View {5 Minute Friday}

Is it happiness?  Friendliness?  Joyfulness?   Love?

Do they see love in my eyes?  Can they feel the joy in my heart? 

I wish for one week I could see myself through the eyes of my children.  Every single moment.  The good, the bad, and even the ugly. 

To see first hand what life looks like from their perspective.  Looking up toward mom and hearing her voice.  Seeing her face. 

Are they seeing loving eyes or angry eyes?  Are they feeling at ease or fearful? 

I’ve had moments of impatience and even moments of anger.  I pray these are not the memories that stick.  I’m not perfect.  Far from it actually.  In these moments of imperfection, I pray that I can still be gentle and loving even in situations where I may just want to lose it. 

I’m working on it.  Working hard.  Trying to purge myself of unnecessary distractions.  Letting the cleaning and laundry sit while we dance around the kitchen or blow bubbles in the wind. 

Just one peek is all that I ask.  One small window to see what they see. 

The view from three feet above the ground. 

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Grace {Into the Word Wednesday}

I have to start by saying thank you.

Thank you for the grace you’ve shown when I opened up a little last week.

But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

2 Corinthians 12:9

I love being part of this wonderful, loving blogging world.  I have been pleasantly surprised time and again with the beautiful comments you leave each week.  Last week as I hit publish I started to get a little concerned.

I am sure I’m not the only one that has seen certain comments across social media that seem to be just vague enough to solicit comments.   I didn’t want that post to come across in that manner.

We have been survival mode for over a year now and I think it’s starting to wear on me.  The mind and body can only take so much sometimes.  The past few weeks have been particularly rough.  The strange part is that there is really no reason for it.

Life is settling down in our household.  Things are looking up.  It seems that because of this my body is going to make sure I’m resting.  I was all prepared to get ahead here on the blog plus get some things done around the house.  Between the migraines, sciatic pain, and flat out falling asleep on the couch none of it was accomplished.

Thank you again from the bottom of my heart for giving me room to grow.  I appreciate each and every one of you!! 

Exceptionalistic

This post also linked up at Simply Helping Him.

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Choices {features from Matrimonial Monday}

What did you think of the posts last week?

Were you able to get through at least a few of them and be encouraged?  Me too!

There are two that really stood out to me this week.

Gaye over at Calm Healthy Sexy shared a quote that I’ve never heard before but is so completely true.   It’s actually what Gaye added to this quote that stood out more than anything.

“Let’s choose, today and every day.”

That word choose is a reminder.  It is a choice to build up our marriages.  It is also a choice to neglect it.   What choice are you making today?

Woven fabric with text 3

This one goes hand in hand with the next.

Elizabeth over at Warrior Wives shared about a book that she recently read in her post Addiction, Rage, and Waiting for His Heart

I can’t even do it justice and try to describe all of Joy’s story from her book Waiting For His Heart: Lessons From a Wife Who Chose to Stay. 

All I know is Joy is an amazingly patient and loving wife.  I am putting this book on my ‘to read’ list.  What an inspiration. 

A huge thank you to Elizabeth for sharing!!

Ladies, if you want to grab a button you can hop over to this page and snag one! 



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On Feeling Unworthy and Admitting Defeat

The truth:

I feel defeated.

I’ve been here multiple times over the past few days praying for a topic for this weeks link up.  Why is there nothing this time?  What am I doing wrong this time? 

Could it be that my heart isn’t in it?  I feel the constant struggle between the woman I want to be, the writer I want to become, and the ministry I want to provide.  Yet these three need to come together and coexist.

I’ve always said I don’t want to write just to write.  I want to write because it’s something someone somewhere in this world needs to read these words.   

So today, I’m here. Open, honest, and feeling unworthy.  Feeling like I’m letting you down.  Yes, you.  The one that comes here to feel encouraged on a weekly basis from one or all of us. 

I’m not a biblical scholar.  Not by a long shot.  I do believe in the Word though.  I am not perfect nor would I ever claim to be.  Could it be that I was never meant for this type of link up?  This kind of responsibility? 

You know.  The kind that you feel obligated to be ‘on’ every week.  Feeling the need to be close to perfection?  I don’t need that kind of pressure because if I feel pressured, it won’t be His message.  It will be mine.  The message that I’m forcing to be amazing.  One that may or may not be ready to be told. 

Here’s a warning as we move forward.  There may be many posts that aren’t even in the vicinity of perfection.  There may be some weeks where a bible verse is all I can give.  One that I’m focusing on but am not able to elaborate on quite yet.   This is where I am in my walk.  I’m okay with it.  I hope you are too.

I have a need to embrace that right now.  Be who I am.  A teeny, tiny baby Christian who has stayed one for far too long.  Believing His words that I can do all things!!!

This is me.

Sincerely,

Unworthy & Defeated

Exceptionalistic

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The Husband Spectacles {Matrimonial Monday}

Yesterday we spent some time looking through old photos from when my husband was little.  Then there were more photos pre- me. 

It was so much fun because there were a ton of photos before we got married.  In fact, there were a lot before we even started dating with me in them.  See, long before we were even a tiny bit romantically involved we were best friends.  We did everything together.  That included family events. 

We spent a few minutes trying to determine whether some of those photos were friend, dating, or married memories.   The best part was listening to our oldest discuss how our hair looks so differently now or how in some cases it barely looks like us.

We were practically babies when we got married and we totally looked the part.  It’s amazing to look at photos of us at our wedding and photos of us today.  It’s been only 12 years so of course we look older but more than that we seem wiser in those recent photos. 

newspaper and coffee

Photographer:  NatUlrich

Each day I look at him and sure, we’re getting older.  A few gray hairs here and there, a little extra weight, and even a few extra creeks in our bones are natural parts of growing up and growing older.  And you know what?  I think he’s hotter today than the day we got married.  Those butterflies still come alive whenever he’s near. 

That doesn’t matter to me.  Those are all a part of life. 

Here’s the thing. 

We, as women, look at photos of ourselves back in the day and think we look our best.  Admit it.  You do this too.   You may shy away from the camera these days thinking one day when you are thinner, wearing something else, or have had a chance to get to the salon…one day…

We are our worst critic.  We have been looking at the same face in the mirror on a daily basis since we can remember.  Of course we are going to notice each and every change. 

Your husband doesn’t see you the same way you see yourself.  He doesn’t care about the fancy clothes or the hair salon style.  He doesn’t seem to see the extra weight that hasn’t come off yet.  Those 30, 40, {ahem}, 50 pounds that we can’t seem to shake.

He sees the woman he fell in love with all those years ago. He sees the real you.   <—-Tweet

The main times my husband tells me I look beautiful are when I’ve just gotten out of the shower with wet hair and no makeup.  Or I’ll just be finishing up with a workout all hot and sweaty. 

I wish I could see myself through his eyes.  I wish we could put on a pair of husband-specs and see what they see. 

I guarantee it would be a different picture than what we see. 

So ladies, be flirty and confident.  Own it.  Show a little skin.  Do something you normally wouldn’t.  He doesn’t see the imperfections you think you see.  Pretend you see what he sees!   Trust me.  He will love it!

Exceptionalistic



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